Tag Archives: CyberFirst

The NCSC Annual Review 2025: Between Capability and Stasis

The article examines the NCSC Annual Review 2025 as both a testament to accomplishment and a warning. It praises the NCSC’s technical competence but questions its identity: regulator, delivery agency, or state-backed market player? It highlights contradictions — DSIT hailing it as “the jewel in the crown” while eroding its remit, diluting CyberFirst into TechFirst, ending its startup work, and overstating the benefits of Cyber Essentials. The piece concludes that the NCSC is overextended and under-defined, needing clarity of purpose more than new initiatives — less performance, more direction.

Continue reading →

Cyber Security Skills in the UK Labour Market 2025: A Critical Analysis

Leave a Reply

This article critically examines the Cyber Security Skills in the UK Labour Market 2025 report, highlighting strengths, weaknesses, and regional implications. It synthesises the findings into a practitioner-academic analysis, with recommendations for aligning graduate supply, employer demand, and future skills in areas such as AI and cyber resilience.

Continue reading →

UK Cyber at a Crossroads: Three Essays on Policy, Practice, and Growth, in Reaction to the 2025 Cyber Growth Action Plan

Leave a Reply

The UK’s cyber policy has made progress but suffers from churn, overlap, and regional imbalance. The 2025 Cyber Policy sets out ambition but lacks continuity and practitioner voice. This three-part series traces the history, critiques the new policy, and argues for a practitioner-led, regionally balanced ecosystem to stabilise the base finally.

Continue reading →

A Potted History of the UK’s Cyber Economy: From Secrecy to Sector

Leave a Reply

This article, written in reaction to the DSIT Cyber Growth Action Plan 2025, traces the uneven history of the UK’s cyber economy. From CESG’s secretive assurance role to NCSC’s public authority and DSIT’s contested remit, the story is one of incremental gains but persistent churn. Programmes such as Cyber Essentials, CyberFirst, CyberASAP, Cyber Runway, and Cyber Resilience Centres have delivered value but lacked continuity, scale, and coherence. Unless the government commits to stabilisation and long-term delivery, the UK will continue to recycle initiatives rather than build a durable cyber base.

Continue reading →

CyberFirst Celebration in the West Midlands: Reflections on What Makes Cyber Special

Leave a Reply

A reflection on the CyberFirst Celebration in the West Midlands, marking its transition to TechFirst. The event highlighted achievements, explored what makes cyber unique, and underlined the importance of maintaining the sector’s distinctive strengths, especially its uniquely inquisitive culture, as the programme broadens.

Continue reading →

Cyber Collaboration in the West Midlands: Skills, Strategy, and a Shared Future

Leave a Reply

On 29 April 2025, the West Midlands Cyber Working Group met at Gowling WLG in Birmingham to explore how collaboration can drive cyber resilience, skills development, and strategic growth across the region. Speakers, including Andy Hague (TechWM), Dan Rodrigues (CyberFirst), Dave Walker (ex-AWS), Sarah Gray and Louise Macdonald (Gowling WLG), and Wayne Horkan (WM CWG Chair) shared insights on scaling regional leadership, building inclusive talent pipelines, addressing AI security risks, and navigating evolving legal frameworks. The event underscored a shared ambition to position the West Midlands not just as a participant but as a leader in the UK’s cyber ecosystem.

Continue reading →